Israel
agreed to cease fire on Gaza for five hours to allow humanitarian aid
into the Palestinian territory. Israel at the same time warned that the
likelihood of a ground invasion was growing, just as long as militants
in Gaza kept up rocket attacks.

Relatives of a 25-year-old Palestinian man who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, mourn over his body during his funeral on July 16 in Gaza City.

Highlights

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - "I think that every day that passes makes the possibility more evident," a senior Israeli military official says. His statement was based upon knowledge of cabinet deliberations.

Israeli authorities warn that they are prepared to escalate the conflict to cease the rocket barrages from Gaza. At one person has died in the fracas, and the missile strikes have greatly impacted life in Israel. The Palestinian death toll from the Israeli air assault has surpassed 200.

Among those killed were four Palestinian children between the ages of 9 and 11. The children were struck by two Israeli missiles while they were near the beach, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The burned and mutilated body of one boy was taken out of a small building overlooking Gaza's harbor. A restaurant nearby had fallen to the ground.

A funeral was held before sunset at a mosque a short walk from the site of the bombardment. The bodies were wrapped and carried aloft on stretchers as hundreds of men gathered around, some of them shouting chants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and calling out "God is great" in Arabic.

The father of one of the boys who was killed said at the funeral that the boys were collecting crabs when the attack begun. "They don't have any weapons," he said. "What would they do? Why would they target them?"

A member of the extended family said "What happened is a really huge crime. They are children . They were just having fun and playing on the beach."

The Israeli military said that the targets of the strike were "Hamas terrorist operatives" and that it was investigating what happened.

"The IDF has no intention of harming civilians dragged by Hamas into the reality of urban combat," the military said.

At the Gaza City hospital, one father described how his 23-year-old son was injured while trying to perform first aid on the children after the first missile exploded. The second one struck him and a friend, with shrapnel hitting his stomach.

"This war is total destruction on both sides," he said. "No one is against cease-fire. No one. No one likes war."